In a recent blog post about the browser war going on between Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox, it looked as if Chrome was winning the battles and taking over. But as in war, the victor only seems to win, thus catapulting us back into the firing lines of these fast and ever-advancing browsers all competing for the top spot on the world’s computer.
Firefox is pumping out these new versions, with this new release being the seventh beta version since its inception a little over six years ago. However, release of the full version has been delayed until 2011 due to bugs and problems that pushed back the release date. It seems this is not the first time Mozilla has slipped up and missed a deadline, but let’s look past the mistakes and look towards the future with all it’s wonders and possibilities.
Can it get much faster? That is one question that seems to be popping up a lot lately as these browsers heat up the race to be the fastest out there. According to people who claim to know something, Firefox 4 is THREE times faster than the existing 3.6.12 version. What is so great about this new browser? Let’s take a look at the record.
The tests came in from both the Kraken and Sunspider JavaScript benchmark, and the V8 benchmark test, to prove just how fast this browser was. There are three reasons for this improved capability of loading web pages:
- J?gerMonkey, an upgrade from TraceMonkey which propelled Firefox 3.5 to the front stage, is designed to do the same again yet keep Firefox on top. JavaScript is very heavy on certain web sites such as Gmail and Facebook, slowing down most browsers because they do not have the speed or strength to keep up with all the code. J?gerMonkey is the future of JavaScript.
- Hardware acceleration, both in graphics and in Windows xp and Mac OS x, is supported enough so that loading the web pages with all those videos and pictures will be much faster.
- 3D capabilities that enable Firefox to skip the question of asking users to download plug-ins to view certain web pages, it is built in.
Together these equal a powerful web browser.
The improvements could make Firefox the number one used browser in the world, right now it is number two behind Internet Explorer. We all know the reason for that right? IE has a deal with all the new computers to have it built in to the system so that when you buy a computer or laptop, you get IE. No wonder they are number one.
Firefox also is coming out with a new feature to get rid of the already old use of tabs at the top of the screen. The Panorama feature is designed to allow the user the ability to customize and create their tabs in any way they would like. With a stroke of the key, you can see an overview of all your tabs and easily maneuver through them to find the ones you want.
Watch out everybody, the browser war has only just begun…
